Rare foal born at Suffolk’s Food Museum for the first time in 100 years

The Suffolk museum located at Abbot’s Hall is the UK’s only museum dedicated to food. The site is also home to a small number of Suffolk Punch horses, a breed that is considered ‘critically endangered’. 

Yesterday, 12th June, the team announced that a rare Suffolk Punch horse named Faith had given birth to a female foal. 

The foal was born on Saturday 8th June and has been named Abbots Juno to honour the last horse born at the museum in 1924. 

Cause for celebration 

A spokesperson for The Food Museum said: “Suffolk horses are classified as critically endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and are more endangered than the giant panda, making the birth of a foal a real cause for celebration. 

“The Food Museum feels honoured to play a part in the continued survival of this beautiful animal, and we’d like to thank everyone who helped make it happen. 

“The fact that as a filly she has the potential to produce more of the breed in the future is even better news.” 

The estate team also confirmed that the mother and her baby are doing well. 

Vesta and Juno 

The other Suffolk Punch horses that live at the estate, Faith and Zippo, were not born there. They were brought to the site in 2022 and 2019. 

Suffolk Punch horses were bred on the 84-acre Abbot’s Hall estate from 1909 to 1924 by the site’s owner, Captain H.D. Longe. 

The last foal bred on the estate was named Combs Vesta 4th. In Roman mythology Juno is the sister of goddess Vesta, which explains the connection to the new foal’s name. 

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